


One that stands out

by Raptarion



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: I don't know what to tag this as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 13:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5668516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raptarion/pseuds/Raptarion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl, fresh off the assembly line, tries to make sense of her situation through her muddled thoughts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One that stands out

The first few hours of Pearl's life were... confusing. Her head hurt. It was hard to concentrate. Scattered words and phrases clung to her randomly. "Make sure you always stand where you can be seen, not where you will be a disruption. Do not speak until spoken to. Anticipate your owner's needs, and meet them before they are even asked." She had a vague idea of her purpose. She looked around at the others. Each one stood exactly the same. She copied their posture. Each one bore the same expression. She copied their face. Was it as hard for them to stay like this as it was for her? They made it look so easy. Natural. Why was she having trouble?

She realizes her instructor is speaking again. She snaps back to attention, looking up to the Pearl on the raised platform above her. She does try to pay attention. It's mostly repeating what she already knows by instinct. She already knows how to curtsy, how to bow, how to stand in the most appealing postures. It was the doing it that was hard. Putting into practice was difficult. She almost looses her balance more than once when they were all asked to demonstrate. She feels out of place. She felt convinced her instructor would single her out. How would she explain that she wasn't doing this on purpose. She wasn't mocking her. She was trying. But her thoughts feel foggy, her limbs don't do what she asks them to do, and her best wasn't keeping up with every other Pearl, who did it all so effortlessly.

But she wasn't called out. After a while the instructor Pearl deemed them all sufficiently educated. She directed them to a large set of double doors.  
"Report to the appropriate distribution warp based on your serial numbers. From there, you will be assigned your owners." She says. The Pearls all turn, and start marching to the doors. Pearl follows. But she doesn't know where to go. Her serial number? Was she supposed to know that? She thinks. When she first appeared, she recalls... something. A gem gave her a number. Then she was shoved along into a crowd. But she didn't understand what the number was. It hadn't stuck. What was she supposed to do? The Pearls all begin to diverge. She decides to follow one Pearl. Then another. One of them had to be going where she needed to go right? What would she do if she ended up in the wrong place?

Her feet fumble underneath her. She trips into another Pearl. Before she can offer an apology, she's shoved aside by the crowd. She almost feels relieved to be outside that confusing march of footsteps. But then the other Pearls start looking at her. They don't stop. But they stare as they pass. They looked... disgusted almost. Like she was unpleasant. She shouldn't have been separated from the crowd. When she was inside the crowd she looked like she belonged at least. But now she looked just like she felt. Out of place. Wrong. She backs up a bit. She had to get away from them. She couldn't stand all of their gazes, singling her out more than she already was.

She feels herself hit a wall. She turns. There was a door. She opens it, and rushes through. The Pearls were left behind. But now she really did have no idea where she was, or where she's supposed to go. She's in a massive corridor. Other gems, both larger and smaller than her, moved from place to place. They paid her no mind. She felt invisible. It was almost relieving. But she still wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing. Maybe if she just stood there, eventually someone would notice, and point her in the right direction? How long would she have to wait before that happened?

Then she sees something. A sign above a window. She understood it. It said reception. It meant someone who could point her in the right direction. She rushes over. A gem smaller than herself sits behind the window. She's busily typing away at a computer. She opens her mouth to say something, but the receptionist beats her too it.  
"What do you need help with?" She asks, distracted by her work.  
"I, uh. I'm a Pearl. I'm a little lost you see I got separated from the other-"  
"Up the stairs. Final door on the left." The gem says with a point, not even looking up from her computer once.  
"Oh. Thank you." She says. She gets no response. After a few awkward seconds she excuses herself, and follows the directions she was given. She eventually finds herself in a dark room. She continues onward, looking for some indication of where she was supposed to be. She pulls aside a curtain, and is almost blinded by bright lights. Her eyes quickly adjust, and she sees a line of Pearls in front of her with their backs turned. This is where she was directed, so she decides to join them.

As stealthily as she can, she makes her way to the end of the line, and inserts herself. The other Pearls don't seem to notice. She takes in her surroundings. It was a simple room, with large lights on the ceiling directed to her and the other Pearls. They were uncomfortably bright. Other than the Pearls, there was nobody else in the room. Why were they just standing here? She knew she was meant to look nice, but what is the point of standing and looking nice if nobody was around?

Then a door opens off to the far right of the room, at the other end of the line of Pearls. Her attention snaps straight ahead, afraid of standing out. She hears voices.  
"And here we are. The finest Pearls, made here at the finest Pearl facility. I'm confident one of these will live up to your standards my Diamond." A voice says.  
"Yes well, don't waste my time, show me." Another voice says.  
"Of course. Please. Examine them to your satisfaction." The original voice says.  
Footsteps begin to approach. They would frequently stop to examine some Pearl or another in the line. Pearl tries to sneak a peek at the approaching figures without stepping out of line. She almost gasps. One of the figures was only as tall as she was. Though with far broader a build. But the other? The other towered above her. She was so tall she nearly brushed against the ceiling. Even without her height though, she commanded respect and fear. Her very presence felt like a heavy weight that tried to force her knees to buckle.  
She goes back to looking ahead of her, feeling suddenly very afraid.

"This is a very impressive lot of Pearls, I will admit." The large figure says, as she approaches the end of the line. "But I am not sure I am finding any that catch my fancy."  
"I am so sorry to hear that my Diamond. Are there any tastes in particular you are looking for? I am, as always, open to more custom orders. Usually it takes a dozen or so tries to get one that's just right, but I've never had a complaint." The smaller figure says.  
"I'll consider it for sure. But I..." She starts, but stops when she reaches the end of the line. "...what do we have here?"  
The smaller gem rushes to meet the massive Diamond at the end of the line, and catches sight of Pearl. Pearl had thought the others had looked at her with disgust. She now knows that was foolish. THIS was a face of disgust.  
"WHAT are you doing here?" She demands.  
"I... I uh..." Pearl stammers.  
"Who let you in here? How DARE you pollute my perfect lineup. You defective piece of garbage." She rants.  
"D... defective?" Pearl asks. So there WAS something wrong with her?  
"I am so SO sorry for this White Diamond." She says, turning her back on Pearl. "I don't know HOW this happened. She shouldn't have made it past inspection at all. I'll see to it a mistake like this never happens again. And will personally dispose of this defective Pearl immediately."

Pearl shakes in fear and despair. She was wrong. She shouldn't be here. She should have never come into existence. And now they were going to correct their mistake. She hadn't even been alive for long. And in what little time she had there was nothing but confusion, and fear.  
At least all of that would be over with. No more muddled thoughts. No more tripping over her feet. No more people starring at her like she was... BECAUSE she was wrong.

"Hold on." The massive figure says.  
"What?" The smaller gem asks.  
The Diamond kneels down. Pearl gulps. Even kneeling, the Diamond was so massive she needed to look up to see her. Her head blocks out the light, and she wasn't as blinded anymore.  
"I think I like this one." She says.  
"THIS one? But... she's defective." The gem says in disbelief.  
The gem reaches out a hand. Pearl takes a step back in fear. A finger brushes lightly against her cheek. The Diamond was smiling.  
"Well I think she looks perfect." The Diamond says. She withdraws her hand and stands up straight. "I've made my decision. Pearl. You are mine now. Do you understand?"  
Pearl blinks in confusion. Was she... not being broken. The other gem speaks up, snapping her out of her daze.  
"ANSWER when a Diamond addresses you Pearl." She snaps.  
"Y-Yes! I understand... m-my Diamond." Pearl says.  
"Good. Come along now." She says, turning around and walking to the door. Pearl rushes to keep up. The other gem walks on the other side of the massive figure.  
"Well then, if you ever feel like this... particular Pearl isn't meeting your expectations, feel free to turn her in. We will provide you with another that hopefully better meets your standards." The gem says.  
"I don't think that will be a problem." The Diamond says.

Pearl still feels confused. She still struggles to not trip on her own feet. How could she hope to meet the standards of this gem? Sooner or later, she was going to let her down. She would be broken... but then again, maybe not. She had been chosen among other Pearls who were supposedly the best of the best. She didn't understand why. But maybe she could do well enough. Maybe she wouldn't be shattered. She should have been disposed of already. She should have been stopped on her way to the inspection hall. Her defectiveness should have been spotted several times by now. But it wasn't. Except by the one person who it apparently didn't bother. She had been this lucky so far. Maybe it would hold up?

"You're going to make a very good accessory I think." White Diamond says to her.  
"Y-yes. I mean. I hope so. My Diamond." Pearl says. She smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> So I sort of think that a gem that is defective causes some issues early on with memory, concentration, balance, holding proper forms, or any other host of problems. Which is why Pearl is so confused in this fic.


End file.
